I joined 200 other MPs and representatives from Alzheimer’s Society in Portcullis House, Westminster to provide a handwritten statement of the action they will take to support people with dementia and their carers. I pledged support Dementia Friends in their constituency.

One in three people over 65 will develop dementia, and it is a health issue that we can no longer afford to ignore.

Alzheimer’s Society campaigners were in Westminster to drum up political support for their trailblazing Dementia Friends initiative that launched in February this year. Dementia Friends aims to help people understand what it might be like to live with dementia and turn that understanding into action. Alzheimer’s Society is aiming to have one million Dementia Friends by 2015, to help make England more dementia-friendly and improve the lives of the 650,000 people currently living with the condition.

During the afternoon, 30 MPs from across England took part in a Dementia Friends session. Jeremy Hughes, Chief Executive at Alzheimer’s Society said:

‘Most people don’t know enough about dementia. Dementia Friends is the perfect opportunity to be able to invite everyone to improve their knowledge. We are pleased to have been able to engage over 130 MPs in one day. They have a huge influence in their local communities and we hope they will use this opportunity to take action and improve lives‘.

If you are interested in becoming a Dementia Friend or helping create more communities that are dementia friendly, go to dementiafriends.org.uk to find your nearest information session or to volunteer as a Dementia Friends Champion.

Some constituents will want to know how I voted on Syria. The answer is that I voted with the Government. The issue is really complicated but the bottom line is I think we must play our part in an international effort to deter the Assad regime from further chemical attacks. It was not a straightforward decision. I am someone who is very cautious about intervening in the affairs of another country unless there are strong humanitarian interests or a clear risk to our national interest or security. I am also very aware of the long shadow thrown by the process which took us to war in Iraq. It was very evident last night in the House of Commons. In the case of Syria, there are no good options. And that includes doing nothing if the consequence of inaction is to send a signal that it is ok to continue breaking the taboo on chemical weapons. Our intelligence services have made it clear that we have high levels of certainty that the regime has used chemical weapons on 14 occasions. It is " highly likely" that they were responsible for the repugnant attack which I am sure horrified us all. I wanted Parliament to send a united message of condemnation. We ended up reflecting public opinion that did not want to see military action. It was not a bad night for British democracy. Time will tell what it means for innocent Syrian civilians, but it is hard to be optimistic.